I Love Cats. But...

I have already written how organizations like PeTA and Blue Cross are double-crossing the cultural/religious/personal rights of individuals and communities. These are the groups pushing to ban Jallikattu. They went to courts to get humans killed and maimed by stray dogs. They are behind the protests against Eid sacrifices. Now they have stricken again. This time members of the Nari Korava tribes are the victims of these "animal love-makers".

I myself have kept many cats and I love cats. They make adorable pets. Almost all members of  my family accept a feline pet over any other pet. I have personally rescued many kittens from drainage pits, barbed wires etc. But that should stop there. I should not behave like the so called "dog lovers" who are offended by Chinese (Yulin) Dog Meat festival, but want millions of cattle slaughtered to feed their dogs. My love for cats stops with me. I have no right to force my opinions on others. There are superstitious people who say that cat is a bad omen. Should I get offended by that too?

According to various reports from TV channels and news sites, the Blue Cross of India have taken law in to their hands and "captured" 3 Nari Korava men for "cruelty towards animals". Reason? The Nari Korava men were catching feral cats (possibly to eat, which is part of their food habits). Where this insanity will stop? Sadly, our Nari Korava brothers don't have Facebook activists who can write lengthy conspiracy theories that "PeTA is a foreign funded organization that is set to eradicate native cat breed and introduce foreign breeds" like they have done for bulls. But I have few questions on this aspect.


1. All these organizations regularly euthanize animals and they run in public money. (They forced me to pay money to take a rescued cat in, very humane indeed!) Will they publish the number of animals in and out of their facility transparently?

2. Will they also get offended if a cat eats a rat? If rat is natural food of cat, then meat is natural food of humans. They should not get offended by humans eating meat.

3. Will they also protest against eradication of flies and mosquito? Don't those insects have right to live? What about plants? What these people are feeding their animal brothers?

4. Blue Cross vaccinate dogs for rabies. Why they are not respecting the rights of rabies virus? If they consider dog life is more important than virus life then the same logic can be applied like this. "Human life is much more important than dog life".

5. Who are they to decide which stray animals can be killed and which cannot be? What is morally correct is subjective and changes with time and region. Killing dog for food may sound repulsive to some while for someone else it may be their favorite food since childhood.

6. They claim they want all animals happy. Have they conducted any survey among the animals they keep? How they are so sure that what they do is best for animals?

Some valid reasons to take action:

1. If someones pet has been captured or killed, action can be taken on that, provided the pet remained in the premises of its owner or accompanied by the owner and didn't pose a threat to anyone else. Killing a dog or any other animal in self-defense should not be a crime. This line of reasoning can be extended to plucking a flower from neighbors' garden.

2. Killing or capturing wild animals or endangered species can be counted as crime. But wait, that too includes even trees and plant life.

3. Slaughtering animals in unsuitable places can be prevented. This is purely in grounds of hygiene and for regulating slaughter. Not for anything else.

4. An economical and sustainable approach can be taken to reduce over-hunting or over-fishing or over-exploitation of resources. People who violate this can be punished.

5. No one should be punished for killing the following animals. Animals which they themselves have grown, that have been properly bought with money or other means, that are feral/stray, in self-defense, to prevent spread of diseases, to keep the environment safe and clean etc.

Some points to ponder:

1. Humans evolved from other primates just 2 lakh years back.

2. Humans domesticated cows, cats etc only within last 15,000 years. (Before that there were no such animals! Dogs were not domesticated at first and they just evolved along human hunters some 40 to 27 thousand years ago.)

3. Humans were hunter-gatherers for good part of their history. Just the most recent 5% (10 thousand years approx. out of 2 lakh years) of human history we started agriculture.

3. Without eating meat, we might not have evolved as humans.

4. Without humans domesticating, these animals will be extinct within few generations.

5. Agriculture causes more extinctions and environmental damage than sustainable hunter-gatherer cultures like those of Nari Koravas. So Blue Cross and PeTA should first try to ban agriculture.

New Source:

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Cats-of-Tondiarpet-narrowly-escape-gypsy-soup-get-mew-lease-of-life/2016/08/17/article3583010.ece

Why I Am Not OK with What OkCupid Is Doing

First, I am not against homosexual relationships and my opinion on that subject is neutral. Second, recent changes in Firefox like plan to include ads and consuming lot of memory etc made me some what upset with Firefox. So don't think that this post is by a Firefox fanboy defending whatever crap Mozilla is doing.

OkCupid, an online dating site, is now asking visitors who use Firefox, to consider changing their browser as the new Mozilla CEO donated $1,000 out of his personal wealth for a campaign against gay marriages. Brendan Eich is not only Mozilla's CEO. He is the main designer of JavaScript. Will OkCupid go clean of JavaScript too? All they wanted is cheap publicity. I assure them that they got it because, someone sitting here in India, who never knew that a stupid dating site named OkCupid existed before, is now writing a rebuttal.

Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion and views. Like fingerprints, no two persons have exact set of views and opinions in this world.That is what makes us humans. Any person's view should be kept as personal and should not affect his/her work. With that said, Brendan Eich can have any opinion as long as he doesn't allow those opinions influence his work.

Up to my knowledge, Firefox has not done anything against homosexuals. None of Eich's works or decisions as CEO of Mozilla were against homosexuals. Even Mozilla reaffirmed their support for equal treatment of homosexuals. The donation supporting gay marriage ban, in question was made 6 years before. Eich had just mentioned Mozilla as his employer and he didn't make the donation on behalf of Mozilla.

So is that like no person can have a personal opinion on trivial issues while holding top level positions in organizations? Should Christians boycott Apple product as Jobs was Buddhist? Instead they should boycott it for its closed nature and patent lawsuits which violates freedom. Should Muslims stop using GNU/Linux as both Dr. Stallman and Torvalds are Atheists? Instead everyone should use GNU system to tackle NSA like surveillance. Where will we be if we take personal views and opinions of people behind a product in to consideration before using it, even when the view or opinion has nothing to do with the product?

Mozilla is not having child labor. It doesn't run sweat shops. It is a non-profitable organization with community support. They are people from different countries, speaking different languages, eating different foods etc joining hands to build a free software. So to oppose a collective effort just because of a personal opinion of a member of that group is morally wrong and outright stupid. I am OK if OkCupid or anyone else opposing Firefox for their shorter release cycles or larger memory footprint or anything else related to their product or organizational decisions. Instead of that picking a person's individual opinion to undermine the collective work of thousands is unacceptable.

Ironically, OkCupid's homepage has JavaScript on the first line of code itself!☺

Now, I know that there is almost no probability for any OkCupid user to read my blog. But still, if you are an OkCupid user, please consider using any other dating site, not because the people running OkCupid are scumbags, but their mean tactics to gain popularity sucks!!!

Update: Sadly Brendan Eich has resigned :-(

References:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26830383

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Eich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript

Photo Credit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brendan_Eich_Mozilla_Foundation_official_photo.jpg

Ethics of Eating

Once a German crew was caught by Cannibalistic Amazon Forest Dwellers. Only one among the whole crew knew the language of the tribe. So he tried to explain that they were just there for trekking. But the tribesmen ignored his plea and started to kill and eat the crew members one by one. As he spoke their language, his life was spared. 

On the new moon celebration, the tribal chief had a meeting with the German in his court. The chief shared his adventurous anaconda hunts. The German, who was an Army General of Nazi Germany, smiled and recollected his role in Hitler’s army. He told that the Army under his command killed nearly 20,000 “enemies”.

Taken aback, the tribal chief asked him “How you managed to eat such a large amount of  people?”. The German replied “We have something called civilization, and we won’t eat human beings.” The chief, with a even more surprised voice told, “If killing such a vast number of people without the need to eat is called civilization, then our tribe never need it!” The German hung his head in disgrace as he realized what he had done for the first time in his life.

Based upon a story I read somewhere....

Jallikattu

Jallikattu:

First, let me make it clear that I don't support or oppose Jallikattu. My opinion on it is neutral. I don't watch it and I don't participate in it. But still, I have some opinions on the same because it is singled out and criticized for no good reasons.

"Jallikattu", for those who are not familiar, is a traditional Tamilian sport where bulls are fought by young men. This is much similar to the bull fights of Spain (only foreign imports are "great" for our people). It is conducted in days following to Pongal celebrations (harvest festival of Tamils). These type of tradtions exists in almost all cultures.

But in recent years, there are voices against Jallikattu, and I also support some of the opposing views. For example, drugging the bull to increase it ferociousness, conducting the competition without safety measures and thus resulting in injury of audience. But none of these reasons can be used to stop the event itself. We can just regulate the practice. A government representative can inspect the bulls and other safety measures taken and give approval for Jallikattu.

But the other reasons these people give are silly and sometimes outrageous. Below are some of the claims and my refutation to the same.

1. Bulls are hurt in the sport
My Response: How many other animals are injured and killed everyday for various reasons? As far as I know, many other animals are treated worse. Example from lovebirds in your backyard to elephants in temples. These bulls are cared and maintained in good conditions and they live a better life compared to other bulls. I have personally seen the special treatment they receive.

2. Bull is an endangered species
My Response: This is also a lie. And even if there is a grain of truth, then stopping Jallikattu will result in extinction of bulls. As tractors had replaced the plowing and cars had replaced bullock carts, the need for bulls are just to impregnate cows. Only some bulls used in Jallikattu and bullock cart races are the only remaining bulls apart from those farm bulls. How can stopping Jallikattu increase the number of bulls?

3. Bull is a wild animal
My Response: Bull is a domestic animal. Even wild animals like elephants, birds like peacock are kept in temples. None is opposing those things. But when it comes to bulls, they claim that bulls are wild animals. Does that mean we all are drinking milk from forest?

4. Jallikattu results in death/injuries
My Response: So is the F1, bike races, martial arts etc also results in deaths and injuries. Indian government spent billions in F1 race but deny Tamils to conduct Jallikattu. Why? Where those protests against F1 and other races? I don't support people dying. But we have to ban all such sports. We should not single out Tamils and common people while allowing rich corporate sports like F1.

5. It is very old sport, time to move ahead
My Response: I don't have any problem in this view. But this not only applies to this sport. Some games like running race and swimming are even older. Don't we have them in Olympics now?

So in my view, there is no need to ban Jallikattu. Regulating the sport is sufficient. But the calls to ban Jallikattu seems to be plain discrimination towards Tamils.

Killing Plants for Food?

A Case for Plants

Plants breath. Plants grow. Plants reproduce. Plants die. And hence plants are living things. Whether they feel pain or not, let me discuss in later. But for sure we can say that they are living.

Everything is life... You have to open your eyes!

Killing for eating. Is it correct? We uproot carrots, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, ground nuts and other innumerable plants just to satisfy our hunger. Is it ethical? Is it acceptable for rational human beings to do this to plants which can’t even defend themselves when attacked?

Is not killing a carrot plant for it’s food reserve which it stored day by day is like killing an old man for his wealth he accumulated in his entire life? Is not boiling a cup of rice is like boiling thousands of unborn foetus removed from dying mothers? Won’t those innocent rice and wheat grains grow in to new plants if they are provided with soil and water instead of being boiled and eaten as idlies and chapattis?

Where are your ethics when you kill a plant which can’t even express its will to live? In the name of farming, we kill thousands of insects using pesticides. We kill ants which are almost always harmless to human beings. Also innumerable plants are killed in the name of weeds. Are we really behaving with responsibility?

If we have to be humane to animal, why not to plants and insects? They are also living beings. Why there is discrimination? Why some animals are considered even more venerable than some other? Why people are ready to share their dining table with pets (which can harbour lot of diseases) yet they throw an entire meal in to trash if an ant lays dead on it (which is almost always harmless)? Is this not discrimination?

Let us assume killing plants is ok as they don't feel pain. Then comes the question. Is it ok to kill and eat animals/humans in comatose? Or is it ok eat animals killed in road accidents or died naturally or nearing their natural death? It is the same logic used by people accuse meat eaters being unethical to justify their killing of plants.

Here is my summary on this topic:

I feel, killing any animal/plant just for fun or for no use is unethical. I believe endangered species should not be killed for any reason. But growing animals in a good and acceptable condition for meat/milk/research is acceptable. On the other hand, factory farming, where animals are not allowed to move and live a natural life should not be allowed. Those factory farms pump animals with anti-biotic and hormones for extra meat and milk. But don't think agriculture is any better. Ruthless agricultural practices also damage nature comparable to factory farms. Extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers pollute land, water and air in irreversible ways. They also pose threat to human health.

Meat from animals grown in good conditions are better ethical choice than vegetables from aggressive farming with hazardous chemicals.

So there is no denial that, we as a species have to kill in order to eat. We are omnivores(both meat and veggies eaters) by our design/evolution. So whether it is meat or plant, there is no guilt if we don't over hunt, aggressively farm or over consume them by wasting the resources. With that said, no one is morally superior on the grounds of their choice of food.

Being a BE

Everyone of us are born unique. Our tastes differ. Our choices vary. But when it comes to education, everyone is pushing for BE. I am here to share you what I feel about the entire BE-mania.

My Case

When I was a kid, I always dreamt becoming an astronomer. I was very much interested in space. Before we even had our own TV at home, me and my parents used to sit at the steps of our house during nights and I used to watch the sky and ask a lot of questions. Days rolled. My dad took me to a computer center when I was 7. He told me that to become an astronomer, you need to learn computer (really he meant it, as there was no IT boom back then). I was very happy. Those were the days of QBASIC and Lotus 123. When I was 10 years old, my demand was a telescope if managed to get first rank. But I didn't make it that time. Hmm... But by that time, my dad bought me lot of books about space. Almost all of them were printed in Soviet Russia, the pioneer of space. So, they served as a paper telescope for me.

Night sky was my playground!

When I was 15, things changed. Everyone around me started to tell me that unless I get "good" marks in SSLC, I won't get "science group" in higher secondary school. OK, so what? Then I can't study engineering or medicine. But, what about my astronomer dreams? Then I realized that I myself had lost my interest somewhere in the middle. I was shaped by the education, society and lack of opportunities. The same parents who encouraged me when I was a kid, started to say, you first improve your handwriting or you memorize the poems, when I watched programs on space in Discovery channel.

I scored moderately good in SSLC, and landed in science group. By that time, my dad had some health issues, and I couldn't give lot of thoughts about space or anything else for that matter apart from school and family. But at the same time, I was blessed with great teachers. Back then, we had entrance exams for engineering. So I joined a coaching center like everyone else. My friends who were with me know how much I hated the entire engineering thing (even though I had interest in electronics and computers it was not up to the level I loved physics and space).

My first DIY FM radio, while at school

But the pressure on me as the only son to take up the family responsibility before my dad retired was so bad. I had only 5 years in hand to study, find a job and earn to support my family as my dad's health continued to have issues.


I was left without options. I didn't even apply for any other courses apart from BE "as everyone did". There was literally no one to tell me. No one to support me. If this is the case of the only son from a middle class, educated family, imagine what will happen to the rest. I joined BE, electronics and communication in a private college through merit (That is just a lie, I am coming there). Even at that time, I thought if I can study well, I can become anything I want. I did so. I envisioned lot of jobs. I thought, at least, I should become an electronics engineer in some space labs. But people told me that I will not be able to find a job with a decent salary as I am not studying in a "good" college. FUCK! Everyone is studying Anna University syllabus right? I was wrong.

Believe me! It is a trap! But you have no choice...

I was one among the first 4 who got selected in an IT company in our college. I didn't even know the name of that company when I was selected. I believed for sure that I will not work in that company. I was very much interested in circuits and micro-controller programming. But when I finished my education, even with a good streak from primary school to college, I couldn't find any job that I dreamt. I became, not an astronomer, not an engineer in a government or private space lab, not a circuit designer, not even a guitarist but a "software engineer" (I still hate that title). The company that recruited me took people in batches. It was not until you are called, that you know which technology you will work on. I was called in a batch. Until I went there and joined, I didn't know which technology or nature of job I am supposed to do. I didn't even know whether it was a development or support or testing or anything else. It was much like "Shut the fuck up and do what we say or else get the hell out of here!". There was so called "bond" too!

Yet another faceless person in the crowd! I feel that I have lost my identity :(

I thought that they would fire me within the training. But cleared it. I thought I will resign after the bond ends. But fortunately or unfortunately I was tied up to work and earn. People say, "if you don't get what you love, then love what you get." That happened to me. I slowly started to love what I got. Life as a programmer goes on. The only achievement I can boast till date is my resistance against onsite positions. I was offered to travel abroad to client location many times. I declined. I hate to follow crowd. Especially those who want to go to US on whatever cost. By ignoring their family. By playing dirty politics in office. Just to earn money and become inhuman. I don’t want and never wanted to become one of them. This is my life. Not only mine. Many of the BEs live like this.

Why parents are forcing their children to BE?

If I tell that the government policy is the main reason for all this mess, will you accept? I am not saying DMK/ADMK/BJP/Congress are the reason. No matter who rules, the policy is determined by corporates and rich elites. That is the reason. At least, that is what I believe to be the reason. The greed and culture of the society is having a minor impact too.

The government opened doors for corporates and multinational. The corporates need skilled labor for their air-conditioned sweat shops called IT companies. So the government increased engineering seats. As it can't afford cheap and quality education to everyone, they bargained with rich industrialists/movie stars/politicians to open colleges. The fees is rightly set so that not too low to make the parents and students feel that the education is cheap. Not too high that makes parents think this is not for us. It is rightly set to the level that every parent can pay after getting loan or with very tight economic planning. The students are preached day in and day out that they are risking their parents money and their future. So they should not talk with girls, involve in politics or social movements. Instead they should present paper in symposiums. Join IEEE and add weight to their resume.

Students should not talk with girls, involve in politics or social movements.

Hand picked students are sent to campus interviews to lift the college's image. The students are brainwashed to become mute and not even in their thoughts they rebel against authority. That is the corporate mindset. That will make them obey their PM unconditionally if he shouts at them and force them to work on weekends. That is how they shape the young generation to become aware of the world. "Keep quiet and live! Else, suffer.", "Cultured people won't fight for their rights, they just live calm", "Settling in life is more important than doing what you love." Good lessons indeed. These colleges are run by rich people who see it as yet another business. They exploit poor people and milk the middle class everything they have and force them to take loans and sell properties. They call it is merit seat, yet demand Rs. 60,000 every year! Is that the respect you pay for merit? Fuck off bastards!

Which parent will think, "let the kid next door become a doctor or engineer. My son will become a hockey player as he wishes."? Everyone wants to see their grandchildren. For that they want their children to marry. For that they need own house. For that they need money. For that they need a job which can give lot of money. For that they need to do MBBS (only few seats and need for MS/MD makes it hard for many) or MBA (only B schools or foreign universities makes it hard for many) or the last option BE, which can land you in an IT job with "onsite" option. For that they need to score well in 12th. For that they need to study in a "good" school. For that they need money. For that they need to earn more. And this cycle never ends.

The people who study other courses are forced to feel inferior to their BE counterparts. They have to force these BEs to take loans, drive their cabs, build their apartments, manage hotels, serve them as air hostess etc. We are just chickens from newly opened factory farms to meet the demand created by KFC and Mc Donalds. Other are just local chickens left with no food to eat and no water to drink. They have to eat the leftover of KFC and Mc Donalds and drink the water they wash their hands.

A typical parent's mindset:

I will join my child in a high class school even if it takes 1000 times more money compared to "normal" schools.

I will take up the interview to join my kid in LKG.

This will make sure that my kid will get seat in a good school for 6th.

For 6th admission, even if he doesn't get good marks, I will give donation and get seat in a good CBSE school as Matriculation follow the same syllabus as government schools after "samacheer kalvi". YUK!

If my son is interested in kabadi, who cares? I will join him in skating class. No matter there are no good roads to skate in my town.

I will start sending 10th tuition from 9th standard itself.

Even if he gets lesser mark in 10th I will get recommendation or pay donation and get seat in a strict school with good coaching.

There is no 11th. My kid will study 12th for two years.

After that I will join him in a engineering college with "campus interview" through merit by paying 60,000+ per year!. Even with donation.

If the company he got selected doesn't have good onsite option, I will send him to B School or MBA in foreign university.

My kid will pay the loan for first 4 years of job.

After that 2 years onsite.

After that an apartment with 20% down payment, rest EMI.

Marriage with 1 kg gold and 5 lakhs dowry, apart from car and all home appliances from soap box to AC.

Force his wife to work and have only one kid.

He will pay EMI for 20 years. Else go to onsite and reduce it to 18 years.

Join my grandchild LKG in a good school to start the cycle again.

I will close my eyes in peace!

Shit! You better eat shit, than living like this.


Frankly I Don't Know!

I don't have much idea to say what we need to do! I am not expert. All I have written is the emotional outburst I have everyday. I think we should diversify our education and allow young people to do what they love. Opportunities should be created equally across various sectors. Science and arts should be given importance. Agriculture should be given priority.

We are an agricultural nation. We need lot of research in crops and irrigation. We need to build dams and power plants. We need to explore the space. We need to build bridges. We need to establish food and social security for all. We have to afford free education. We have to invent and discover new things. That won't happen with the our young generation locked in BE/MBBS/MBA and forced in to slavery for corporates.

I know some may think that this guy is in IT, living a comfortable life and writing something to fool us. I am sorry for still working in IT. But I have no other option. I am still trying hard to switch to some other stream. But the harder I try, the more frustrated I get. Only thing I do is, I live cheaply. I try my best to keep luxuries like AC, microwave, LCD TVs etc at bay. I try not to join the crowd in traveling to onsite, killing time in malls and pubs, buying car and apartments on loan. I call on everyone to do the same. If you are in IT, just earn for your life like everyone else in other fields. Don't let the excess money entice you to get addicted to luxuries. Once you are addicted, you can't leave that IT hell for ever. You will demand for more and more and more money, until you forget all important things/people/joys in the life.